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October 10, 2017

This Ain’t No Joke

“A man walks into…” Like the cartoon above, a lot of jokes start with this line, but what I’m about to tell you is no joke. Unfortunately, it is very real and happening every day. Does this sound ridiculous? A man (or woman) walks into…. their local Toyota dealer. They are after a cost effective, reliable, value for money solution to their transport needs. Now […]

November 10, 2017

Behave Your Way to Success

A recent post on LiveWire (link below) identifying 11 habits to avoid for better investment performance is worth a quick look, not just for how it could help you as an investor, but for how a better understanding of the habits it refers to can help you in everyday life. The post identifies 11 natural human behaviours that are often counterproductive when applied to decisions […]

January 3, 2018

Still the 8th Wonder of the World

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” ― Albert Einstein Einstein isn’t the only smart person that understands the power of compound interest. Regarded by many as the greatest investor of all time, certainly the best known, Warren Buffett has built one of the world’s greatest ever financial fortunes largely off […]

September 11, 2018

Tricks & Traps – Insurance Premium Payments

I recently saw it reported that 95% of insurance premiums are paid monthly. So what you say? Surely that helps with managing cash flow. I suspect it does, but maybe not the cash flows you’re thinking. Call me cynical, but I think it has more to do with the cash flow position of the adviser that sold the policy and the insurer than it does […]

February 6, 2019

Financial One-Stop-Shops

Every now and then I do a Google search on independent financial advice or a variation to see what comes up. Yes, I’m checking to see if Think Independent does, but let’s move on. Too often there are advice practices that are far from independent. That’s a problem but not what this post is about. A recent search brought up a practice that upon further digging is what you […]

August 15, 2019

Too good to be true?

There is a link to a great article by Noel Whittaker below, with a particular focus on property spruikers, but as he highlights the principles relate to any form of investment or strategy that is being spruiked. Like Noel, I’ve met plenty of victims of these spruikers and it is typically their unfortunate experience that prompted them to seek out truly independent advice. https://www.firstlinks.com.au/article/six-warning-bells-against-property-spruikers?utm_source=Website+Subscribers&utm_campaign=9a50fb01ab-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_8_15_2019_319&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_953154ac75-9a50fb01ab-83786745 The […]

August 3, 2020

Stop me, please!!

A recent article in Financial Standard ( https://www.financialstandard.com.au/news/super-switching-three-times-higher-cfs-159862808 ) based on data from Colonial First State has again highlighted how human emotions don’t mix well with financial markets. This is a story told many times before, but worth telling again. We need to be constantly reminded. Some background first, financial markets started selling off in February on the back of concerns as to the impact […]

October 10, 2017

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